Author: Daniel Dorson

NLRB New Information Sharing Agreement Takes Aim at Employer Surveillance

On March 7, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a new information sharing agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The agencies executed a memorandum of understanding that will remain in effect indefinitely and permit the sharing of nonpublic information, including information about ongoing investigations. According to the NLRB and CFPB, the agreement will help improve the enforcement of both federal consumer financial protection laws and labor laws, with a heightened focus on employer surveillance and employer-driven debt.

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NLRB General Counsel Issues Guidance on Severance Agreement Restrictions

On March 22, 2023, the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board), Jennifer Abruzzo, issued guidance about the Board’s McLaren Macomb decision from earlier this year. The guidance made clear that the General Counsel will, when given the opportunity, prosecute a case before the Board to have the NLRB invalidate provisions in severance agreements that attempt to restrict the rights of departing employees to engage in activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The General Counsel also emphasized her view of the retroactive application of the decision, noting that employers attempting to enforce old severance agreements will face new unfair labor practice liability even if the statute of limitations has run since the execution of the now-unlawful agreement. Although the General Counsel’s memorandum is not law, employers should pay close attention as the guidance indicates the position the General Counsel will take in prosecuting allegedly unlawful severance agreements.

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NLRB Finds Secret Workplace Recordings to Be Protected Activity

On February 13, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that Starbucks violated federal labor law at multiple locations in Philadelphia in 2019 and 2020. The decision, issued by the NLRB’s three Democrats, found that Starbucks unlawfully threatened, surveilled, and interrogated employees, prohibited discussion of terms and conditions of employment, reduced the work hours of union supporters, and ultimately terminated two employees for engaging in protected activity.

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Busy Before the New Year: Three Recent NLRB Decisions That Will Impact Employers

Last week, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continued its efforts to effectuate a strong national labor policy focused on advancing the organizational rights of workers and encouraging collective bargaining. Three recent decisions take aim at enhancing available remedies in unfair labor practice cases and facilitating organizing among smaller bargaining units.

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NLRB General Counsel Encourages Increased Scrutiny of Electronic Employee Monitoring

On October 31, 2022, the General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, issued a memorandum instructing regional offices to closely scrutinize employer use of certain electronic monitoring, data collection and automated management technologies. This memorandum further evidences the NLRB’s commitment to effectuating a strong national labor policy which includes protecting employees’ organizational rights and encouraging collective bargaining as described in our November 2020 client alert. Abruzzo reiterated these policy objectives in her February 2022 memorandum issued in support of the Biden administration’s Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment’s February 2022 labor report.

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What All Employers Can Learn From Most Recent Railway Dispute

On September 15, 2022, railroad companies and unions representing railway workers reached a tentative agreement to potentially prevent a strike that would have caused significant harm to the American supply chain and economy. While the unions’ membership must still ratify the agreement, the unions agreed not to strike during that process. Ratification votes will occur over the next 45 to 60 days. If any union does not ratify the agreement, then it may have the right to strike.

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